Look to Consumers to Increase Productivity看看消费者提高生产力.docx

Look to Consumers to Increase Productivity看看消费者提高生产力.docx

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LooktoConsumerstoIncreaseProductivity看看消费者提高生产力

管理学院营销10013100806022赵潮（1~24）

May1979

LooktoConsumerstoIncreaseProductivity

byChristopherH.LovelockandRobertF.Young

Whenproductivityisaprobleminmanufacturing,managersturntotheR&Ddepartmentoroperationsforhelp.Inservices,however,especiallyoneswherethereisalotofcontactwiththecustomer,suchin-housegroupscannotbythemselvesimproveproductivity.Becauseservicesinvolvethecustomerinproduction,arelaborintensive,andaretime-bound,consumerbehavioritselfiscritical.Increasingproductivity,then,becomesamatterofchangingconsumerbehaviorandexpectations,andthatdependsonenlistingconsumeracceptanceofthechange.Theauthorsdescribefiveinstanceswheremanagershavebeenlesssuccessfulthantheymightinimprovingproductivityinservicesbecausetheydidnottaketheneedsofconsumersintoaccount.Then,drawinglessonsfromtheseexperiences,theydiscussthreemarketingstrategiesmanagerscanemployininfluencingconsumerstobecomeapartoftheserviceprocessitself.

Mostpeopleagreethatlowproductivityisamajorcontributortoinflation.Laggingproductivitygainsareparticularlyaproblemfortheservicesectoroftheeconomy,whichnowaccountsforclosetotwo-thirdsoftheGNPintheUnitedStates.

Lowproductivityafflictsallthreecategoriesofserviceorganizations—forprofit,public,andnonprofit.Inprivatecompanies,managersworryabouttheirabilitytomaintainprofits,yetfearthatpassingonhighercostsintheformofhigherpricesmightdriveawayconsumers.Manypublicagenciesfindthemselveswithrisingdeficitsatatimewhentaxpayersareangrilydemandingtaxcuts;yetastrategyofservicecutbackscouldhaveseriousconsequencesforthewelfareofdisadvantagedcitizensandthequalityoflifeingeneral.Somenonprofitorganizationsthathavereliedunrealisticallyonincreaseddonationsorhigheruserchargeshavebeenhitparticularlyhard,someeventothepointofcollapse.

PeopleusuallythinkthatimprovingproductivityisataskfortheR&Ddepartment,forthefinancecommittee,orforoperationsandpersonnelmanagement.Economiststellusthatthethreewaystoincreaseproductivityare

（1）toimprovethequalityofthelaborforce,

（2）toinvestinmoreefficientcapitalequipment,and（3）toautomatetaskspreviouslyundertakenbylabor.

Inthisarticle,wearegoingtoarguethatthereisafourthcomponenttoimprovingproductivityinserviceindustries—thatis,tochangethewaysconsumersinteractwithserviceproducers.Thisisataskthatmarketing—theartofdemandmanagement—cantacklebest.Servicemanagerscanusemarketingtoolstoencourageconsumerstomodifytheirbehaviorsothatservicescanbedeliveredinamoreproductiveandeconomicallyefficientmanner.OurprimaryfocuswillbeonwhatRichardB.Chasehastermed“highcontact”servicesystems,wherethereisahighlevelofinteractionbetweenserviceproducersandtheircustomers.1

Onecandivideservicesintotwobroadcategories:

thosethatdosomethingforconsumersthemselves—suchastransportingthemtodistantlocations,cuttingtheirhair,andhealingtheirbodies;andthosethatdosomethingforconsumers’possessions—suchastransportingtheirmail,cuttingtheirgrass,andrepairingtheircars.Theformer,ofcourse,involveahigherlevelofpersonalcontactthanthelatter,butconsumerbehaviorisimportantinbothinstances,andwewillconsiderbothhere.Understandingconsumerbehavioristhefirststepindetermininghowtochangeit.

ImpactofConsumeronServices

Whyisconsumerbehavioraparticularlycriticalfactorforproductivitygainsintheservicesectoroftheeconomy?

Threebasicreasonscometomind.

First,serviceindustriestypicallyinvolvetheconsumerintheproductionprocess.Ahaircutrequiresyoutositinthebarber’schair;astayatahotelrequiresthatyoucheckinandenteryourroominperson;tomailaletterrequiresthatyouaddress,stamp,anddepositit.Ifyoufailtocompleteyourbankwithdrawalslipcorrectlyandarguewiththeteller,thenyouwillslowdowntheserviceanddelayothercustomersaswell.

Second,serviceindustriesaretypicallylaborintensive,withtheservicebeingpartandparceloftheoverall“product”beingpurchased.Sometimes,though,consumerscandosomeoftheworkthemselves,replacingallorpartofthatpreviouslydonebytheserviceemployee.Consumersnowservethemselvesatbuffetsinrestaurantsanddiallong-distancetelephonecallsdirectlyinsteadofgoingthroughtheoperator.

Third,aserviceindustry’sproducttendstobetime-bound:

itcannotbestockpiled.Thustheopportunitytosellanemptyseatonthe9:

00p.m.flighttoBostonislostoncetheaircrafttakesoff.Conversely,theatergoersturnedawayby“housefull”signscannotbereliedontowaitforthenextavailableshow.Becauseofthetime-boundnatureofservice,managersplaceaheavyemphasisoncapacityutilization.Theproductivitygoalistosmooththepeaksandvalleysofdemandtoavoidbothexcessdemand（whichcannotbesatisfied）andexcesscapacity（whichrepresentsunproductiveuseofresources）.2

Inserviceswherethereisagreatdealofpersonalcontact,managerscanincreaseproductivitybychangingproceduresatpointofdelivery.Butthesechanges,suchasreplacingabanktellerorawaiterwithmachines,directlyaffectconsumers,andtheiracceptanceofthechangecannotbeassumed.

Sometimes,asChasepointsout,the“technicalcore”or“backroomoperations”ofaservicecanbeseparatedfromthepersonalserviceaspect.Inrecentyears,manyoftheproductivitygainsmadebyserviceorganizationshavebeenachievedwithinthetechnicalcore.Computersnowhandleaccountingproceduresandhotel/airlinereservationsystems,larger,faster,andmoreefficientaircraftflymorepassengers,andpartiallyautomatedmail-handlingproceduresspeeduppostalservices.

Butchangesinthetechnicalcoremaystillaffectconsumers,requiringthemtoacceptchangesinbankstatementformats,includeZIPcodeswhenaddressingmail,oraccustomthemselvestocomputer-generatedreservationconfirmationsforseatsonnewkindsofaircraft.Whilemanyoftheseinnovationsofferbenefitstocustomers—suchasgreateraccuracy,fasterservice,morecomfortableflights—servicemanagerscannottakeconsumers’acceptanceofchangeforgranted.

FiveCautionaryTales

Inourexperience,attemptstoimproveproductivityinserviceindustriesalltoooftendemonstratealackofsensitivitytoconsumerneedsandconcerns.Considerthefollowingsituations:

Intheearly1970s,theUniversalProductCodemadeitsappearance.By1978,itappearedonsome170billionpackages.Yetitisestimatedthatonly2billionofthosepackagesactuallypassedthroughscanners.Lessthan1%ofU.S.supermarketshaveinstalledregistersthatcanreadthecode,inpartbecauseconsumersdistrustthem.

Between1967and1974,theBritishPostOfficeintroducedsophisticatedalphanumericpostalcodes.Theseidentifymailingaddressesdowntoaspecificcityblockoreventoasingledwelling.ButamajorityofGreatBritain’sconsumersarestillnotbotheringtoincludethese“postcodes”whenaddressingtheirmail.

Thoughmanybankshaveinstalledautomatictellers,someoftheircustomersarerefusingtousethem.Asa“oncebitten”consumerreports:

“Well,Itriedthatmachinejustonce,anditatemycard.Thecardcamebackinthemail,butIdidn’tbotherusingitagain.”

Inanefforttoreducecrowdingonitstrainsduringtherushhour,Boston’stransitsystemintroduced“DimeTime,”whichoffereda60%discountontravelbetween10:

00a.m.and2:

00p.m.Butbecausemostconsumersmusttravelduringrushhours,DimeTimehadonlyamodestimpactontravelpatternsandwasfinallyabandonedastoocostly.

Despitethefactthatself-servicegasstationsarequickerandcheaper,manypeopleexpressadislikeforthem.“I’mnotgoingtoslosharoundingastosaveapenny”wasatypicalresponsetoarecentresearchstudy.

Thecommonthreadlinkingtheseattemptsbyfivemajorserviceindustriestoimproveproductivityisthatconsumersresistedthechange,andtheanticipatedgainshaveyettobefullyachieved.Inmostinstances,managementhasscaleddownitsexpectationsandhasevenabandonedsomespecificeffortsforthetimebeing.Letuslookbrieflyateachsituationinturn,andthenconsiderwhatcanbelearnedfromthem.

Universalproductcode

Whentheyfirstintroducedtheconceptintheearly1970s,marketersoftheUniversalProductCodehadhighhopes.Theyexpectedittoreducelaborcosts,eliminateerrors,andprovidebetterinformationforretailmanagement.In1973,theUPCsymbolsbeganappearingonthousandsofmass-merchandizedconsumeritems.Whyhassolittleprogressbeenmadeinthepastfiveyears?

Equipmentcostsareonereason,unionresistanceasecond,andconsumeroppositionathird.

Somesupermarketexecutivesnowconcedethattheydidapoorjobofpreparingthepublicforthescanners.“Consumergroupsrakedusoverthecoals,”admittedaseniorexecutiveofGiantStores,“becausewedidn’tbringthemintothedecision-makingprocesstwoorthreeyearsearlier.”3

Consumers’concernscenteredaroundthefactthatitemswouldnolongerbepricemarked（apotentialsourceoflaborcostsavingsforfoodstores）.Consumerorganizationsexpressedfearsthat,ifitemswerenotindividuallymarked,surreptitiouspricehikeswouldresult.Inresponsetolobbying,sixstates—includingCaliforniaandNewYork—havepassedlawsforcingstorestoretainitempricing.

Nevertheless,recentexperienceinthosestoresthathaveUPCscannerssuggeststhatconsumerrece